House of Hades
by Athenasisters
Summary: Percy and Annabeth are tumbling through Tartarus while Nico leads their friends to Greece, trying desperately to beat Gaea's forces. With many surprises along the way, will anyone make it to the Doors of Death alive? The 7 demigods of the prophecy have always made it through, but this quest might just spell their downfall. Lots of regular ships. T because I'm paranoid. DISCONTINUED
1. I Annabeth

**Hullo there, new fanfiction! Well, hi to my beloved stalkers, I am back from my hiatus! Which means that The Land Built From Ashes will soon be updated! And I have a long list of one-shots to be typed up and posted soon. Aaaaanyways, here's chapter one of my version of House of Hades, to be updated every Friday! Hopefully. Happy almost Thanksgiving, American readers! Special shout out to the splendificent person who is now helping me out and beta-reading me stories: I am Bianca Daughter of Hades! You're awesome.  
Disclaimer: Me no ownio anything in this except the plot and ideas. Characters and general stuff belongs to mastermind Rick Riordan, unless of course he decides to be nice and transfer them to me for Christmas?  
**

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**I**  
**Annabeth**

Immediately, she was swathed in a load of great big... Guilt. How could she lead Percy into this with her? She felt selfish. Sure, having him with would be beyond useful, not to mention it would keep her sane for longer, but still. He didn't deserve this, and she almost certainly got him killed by letting him fall with her. That's when she realized, while she was making a sound more than a little bit similar to a dying cat, as they fell Percy was utterly silent. Nor was he moving much, outside of flopping uselessly through the air, yet his eyes were still open.

"Percy?" she called, and thank the gods his head turned towards her.

"Alright there, Annabeth?" he called back, and gave her a twisted sort of smile. She couldn't believe it, he was joking when they were falling into an almost certainly fatal pit? If the impact of an endless abyssal fall didn't kill them first, of course.

"Perseus Jackson how in gods' names are you kidding around when we're going to Tartarus the hard way?!" she yelled. Only then did she realize that he was just trying to be tough for her sake. He knew how scared she had been.

She couldn't begin to believe how lucky she was to have him, but just then his hand started slipping from her grasp as Tartarus pulled them down, causing them to continually pick up speed. She gripped his fingers harder, and with a lot of force, pulled him closer. No way was he getting way from her like that. He wrapped his arms around her, and she did the same, because just knowing someone else was there helped. With one last, big gust of suctioning air, they plummeted.

Annabeth had never thought there would be a floor to Tartarus, but apparently she was wrong. As they hurtled downwards at speeds that should have ripped them to shreds, a ghastly grey light illuminated a rocky base, some two miles below. Annabeth braced for the impact, and clenched onto Percy harder than was probably necessary, but in the one second that it took them to crash-land, her wonderful seaweed brained boyfriend somehow managed to spin so that he was underneath her, and took the full force of the impact.

She could only imagine how painful it was for him. As it was, every bone in her body rattled when they landed, and she nearly blacked out from the pain in her broken ankle. She rolled off of him, groaning as another wave of pain rippled through her. Once her vision cleared, she rolled her head to face him. Just that minor effort made every muscle in her neck ache, and caused her head to throb. It felt as though she had gone five years without moving, then one day decided to go out and commit to a twelve hour full body work-out, multiplied by one hundred on the pain scale.

Squinting through the gloom, she tried to make out his face. It took a while, but when she finally succeeded she saw that his eyes were closed, his mouth hung open, and his head was lolled to one side. A small pool of blood was forming around his head, which caused her to suspect he had banged it pretty hard when they landed. Oh gods, she hoped he was alright, and she swore that as soon as the pounding in her ears was gone and the feeling in her legs returned, the first thing she would do was making sure. She just hoped that wouldn't be too late; the pool of blood didn't look good.

"P-Percy?" she croaked, just to test out her voice and to make sure he really was unconscious. Her heart sank when a full minute went by without an answer. Thankfully though, it only took that one minute for the world to stand still, for her to be able to flex her hand, and for her to assure herself that she would not pass out. When all this happened, she rolled back onto her stomach, and crawled over to Percy as fast as she could at that moment. She lifted up his head, and gasped. The back of his head was soaked in dull red blood, warm and sticky to the touch. It was all she could do to not scream, and to remember what she had learned in her First Aid class at school. Head injuries always looked worse than they were, and when bleeds a lot, you have to press a clean cloth to it for a few minutes. Unfortunately, she didn't have a clean cloth... She ripped off the left sleeve of her shirt. That would have to do...

As she held the cloth against his head, and the blood began seeping onto her hand, she remembered the other tips from her class. If the patient was unconscious for even a minute (he had been, for several minutes) they may have a concussion. If the bleeding didn't stop after a few minutes (it wasn't) the wound could be serious and you should call a doctor. That seemed like such a cruel joke right then... Calling a doctor from Tartarus? If only.

Oh, how she hoped he would be alright! Annabeth dug out her small bag of ambrosia and canteen of nectar. She knew they should save it for emergencies, since they had no idea how long they would be trapped down there, but if this didn't qualify she shuddered to think of what would. Popping off the lid of the godly drink, it took all her willpower and common sense to not pour it all on the wound at once. Instead, she trickled it over the blood, and then poured a little bit down his throat. The blood slowly cleared as the wound healed, and _di immortalis_, he coughed and opened his eyes. As he stared around groggily, Annabeth laughed and pulled him in for a bone-crushing hug.

"Crushing... Me..." He half-croaked, half-wheezed, and she pulled away.

"You Seaweed Brain! I thought you promised to not leave me!" she yelled.

"Di'n't leave... you... Jus' u'con'ious?" he croaked, but gave her a tired smile.

"Don't ever try to save me like that again! You nearly died!" She scolded, but hugged him again, this time lighter. She was just glad that he was alright now...

"S'rry, An.. Annabeth."

"I forgive you, I guess. Just don't go to sleep, 'kay? You might have a concussion and I don't want it to turn into a coma..."

"Got it. I don't mean to put a drag on the situation or anything, but could we stay here for a little while? Just until I can see properly again and we figure out what we need to do. No use in aimless wandering, right?"

"Yeah, I was going to suggest that too. I don't think wandering around Tartarus without any hint of a plan will be any safer than it would be in the Labyrinth. Actually, it's almost certainly much more dangerous..."

"Thank you, little miss sunshine. All I needed was a 'yeah alright.' you didn't need to go all pessimistic on me."

"Percy?"

"Yeah, Annabeth?"

"Shut up."

He grinned, and though she would never tell him, it made her stomach flutter with butterflies. "I thought you would say that, Wise Girl."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and edged away a little. He didn't need to get all smart

"Aw come here Annabeth, I was just kidding around. Plus, it's really cold down here."

"You seaweed brain," she laughed, but went and cuddled with him anyways. Sharing body heat and whatnot really did work, and she found comfort in knowing he was nearby. Then again, it made her sad to think about how Coach Hedge would react to them, had he been there. She knew that they might never see their friends again, and that she should get used to being alone down here except for Percy, but that really didn't help the aching feeling in her chest. Well, really every part of her still ached but there was a figurative ache in her chest as well.

With that oh-so-happy thought, she snuggled up to Percy more and drifted off to sleep, him still awake and keeping watch.

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**Don't forget to review please! Make my lonely day much better? **


	2. II Percy

**Hi there! Happy almost December! I'm just about to wrap up my last thousand words for NaNoWriMo! *parties* Thank goodness November is over... Okay, well enjoy this chapter! :D  
Disclaimer: If I owned PJO or HoO Percabeth wouldn't have gone to Tartarus. Which is to say, I don't own anything!  
**

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**II**

**Percy**

He was ashamed to say, he fell asleep after about ten minutes of keeping watch in nearly complete darkness. The whispering wind was quite soothing in an undeniably creepy and disturbing way, causing him to be slowly lulled into unconsciousness. Of course, a dream came to him immediately.

Percy was aboard a ship, in the midst of a raging storm. At first he couldn't make out much besides the yelling of the crew and the roar of some terrifying beast, but then the image shifted and he saw the majestic bronze head of a dragon. Festus; he was on the Argo II.

"Percy? Thank the gods, I've been trying to get through for hours! Is everything alright? Ah, stupid question. You're literally in Tartarus... Anyway, no monster attacks so far? We've been worried!" Nico exclaimed in one breath, breathless from a fresh fight. His friend was crouched behind a barrel of gods-knew-what, as fighting commenced around them.

Percy frowned a little, he had only communicated with Nico via dream once before, and that had been during desperate times. "We're fine. Well, for now at least… What's going on there? How long have Annabeth and I been gone?" he questioned anxiously, hoping to gather some information less the dream shift annoyingly before he got the chance.

"Just a bad storm, and right now there's a few _venti_ attacking us; it's nothing we can't handle. You two have only been gone a day, but there's just a few weeks until Gaea rises! We need both of you back... Leo has started decoding Archimedes' Spheres, but I doubt he will be able to find anything to rescue you."

The dream was beginning to blur and it was getting hard to hear the howling wind and booming thunder around them. "Nico! Just tell the others that we're alright right now and to keep calm. Tell Leo not to stress himself too much, we'll find a way out somehow. I don't know when we will be able to talk to any of you again, so just be safe and stay on track!" Percy managed

"Alright, you too! I've been experimenting and I think I may be able to send you supplies. See you at the D-"

The dream shifted to another scene.

Now Percy was in a gloomy, dark cavern, listening to a raspy voice. It was like gravel and withered leaves being stepped upon. His first thought was, _this again?_ Then, slowly, he began to make out words.

"They sssssslumber now, utterly unaware of what isssss coming, massssster," sneered the slithering voice of a _dracaena_.

"Good, I assume you have sent forces to attack them in their vulnerable state?" questioned the said master in his low, crinkling voice.

The _dracaena_ hesitated, "But of courssssssse, masssster. My army isss marching to them asssss we ssssspeak. No need to worry, I have everything under control."

"You lie!" bellowed the master furiously, whip-like words lashing out harshly, "Send them immediately! If you allow the two to escape without any difficulties, I will destroy your souls and you shall never again walk the earth to join your other master!"

"Yessss, sssir," came a submissive hiss, veiled with fear. The servant then left at once, it's scaly tail brushing over what sounded like rocks. A chuckle of pure evil reverberated through the chamber, sending chills down Percy's spine. He had a vague feeling that the master knew he was there, and was perfectly fine with it. Almost as though he knew Percy and Annabeth were a lost cause.

Yet again, the dream flipped, this time to something even worse. He was now intruding on the Romans' attack plans. Set in a hotel room, there were maps and complex battle strategies laid out; overlapping on a dining table that someone had pulled to a more open space. Twenty or so Romans were crowded around it, intently listening to Octavian give a lengthy attack proposition.

"Octavian, why would we go straight over the hill?" asked an exasperated Reyna, looking bored. "That would simply put them at the defensive advantage. Not to mention the dragon that would fry us all to ashes."

"Praetor, attacking by my suggested route would us in our best attacking position. If we go in by the woods as you suggest, we will be scattered and most probably left to one-on-one combat. Might I remind you that this would put the Greeks at an advantage seeing as they are trained for such a thing?" Octavian countered smoothly with his fluent words; lathering on his snide charm.

"Why not go in near the beach? They will be attacked from the inside unknowingly, giving us the element of surprise." contributed Dakota. It pained Percy to see him there, plotting the downfall of the Greeks. Dakota had seemed like a decent - if not insane - guy during Percy's two days at Camp Jupiter.

"All in favor?" Reyna asked, seeming satisfied with the suggestion. Over half the hands shot up; Octavian scowled. "Motion passed, we will attack in one week."

"Very well," Octavian stated, then stalked out of the room.

"Meeting adjourned," announced Reyna formally. Once everyone left, she turned to look straight at Percy. "Warn your camp, Jackson. I cannot stop them, but I can give your people a fair chance. Do not hate Dakota or I; any of the fifth cohort for that matter. Most of them are confused, under blackmail, or helping to undermine Octavian as I am. It is the other four cohorts that are split between loyalty to Octavian and respect for allies. When the battle comes, I shall attempt to halt it, but that does not eliminate the possibility of bloodshed. It took much risk to even show you this, though it was the least I could do to warn you. May the gods be with you, praetor."

She left the room, leaving Percy feeling confused. Reyna had led her soldiers to Camp Half-Blood, only to try and stop them? At least it was good to know that she was on their side. The image flipped and he nearly cried in relief. He was in the kitchen of his mother's apartment, back in Manhattan. His mother was sitting at the table with the phone nearby. She was in her pajamas, hair tied up in a messy bun; reading glasses perched on her nose as she typed furiously on her laptop. Probably the sequel to her first novel. He couldn't believe he was actually home!

"Mom?" Percy asked, grinning in spite of himself.

Sally looked up and gasped, "Percy?! Percy! Where are you? Since when is it okay to disappear for nine months, only calling me once from a payphone in Alaska in the middle of the night? Paul and I have been worried sick! Are you alright? What's going on with the quest? Annabeth told me that they were going to get you, but I haven't heard anything in weeks! Is everyone alright?"

He chuckled, his mom tended to talk and ask a lot of questions when she was worried. "I'm alright mom, the others are heading to Greece right now. We're all alive, and the quest is going well for the most part. I'm sorry I didn't call you, I wanted to so much but there hasn't been time. We probably won't be back for a long time, but I promise I will come back."

"What do you mean, 'the others'? Where are you? Annabeth? Don't you dare gloss it over for me, I need to know the truth."

He hesitated, not wanting his mom to have a heart-attack right then and there. How could he just tell her? Finally, "It doesn't really matter much. Annabeth and I are going to be alright. Don't worry about us, just focus on finishing that novel of yours. It might not be soon, but I swear I will be back. I'll even pinky promise you that."

Sally didn't speak for a while. Their eyes met instantly he could tell that she saw through his lie. She took off her glasses and sighed, taking a deep, shaky breath, "Just- just stay alive. And keep Annabeth safe, too. As long as you make it back alive I promise not to ground you too badly, alright?"

"Yeah," he choked out, "And Mom? I miss you, _really_ bad."

"I miss you, too, Percy. So, make sure you get your butt back over here in one piece." Sally smiled shakily, he could see tears forming in her eyes. Inwardly, he pleaded that she wouldn't cry - it would only make the goodbye harder. He might even be compelled to tell her the truth.

"I will. I mean, I'll do my best." He assured her at last, with a strained grin. He started to feel himself waking up, as he clung desperately to the dream.

"Take care sweetie, I love you," called his mother from what seemed like a hundred miles away.

He didn't even get a chance to tell her that he loved her too, before he was pulled back to reality by sounds of something like a steam roller paving a new street. He cursed as his head shot up in alarm. The _dracaenae_ were upon them at last.

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**Thanks to the three reviewers, three favoriters, and five stalkers! Love you all. Review and receive cookies! ;)**

ANONS  
Guest: Frazel comes in later; this is only the first few chapters! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten.


	3. III Jason

**Chapter Three! Thanks, wonderful reviewers and favoriters and stalkers of this story. Each amd every one of you is splendificent! I was going to have Jasper here... But my sis had the flu this week. Therefore... Yep. But lil bit of Frazel! Enjoy. (And Review if you wanna be awesome. I accept criticism.)  
**

**Shoutout to HecateA for helping me with a name.  
**

**Disclaimer: If I owned PJO/HoO would I be on here? No.  
**

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**III  
Jason**

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It had only been a few minutes of fighting, but Jason was already beginning to exhaust his powers. From the moment the monster that Leo had so lovingly deemed Nagini appeared, the battle had gone downhill. They had just defeated the last of the _venti_, when the strange beast emerged from the depths of the ocean. If Annabeth had been there, she surely would have given them the whole backstory of the beast - including who had killed it and how - but for now, they were on their own with no knowledge.

All he knew was that it looked like the Loch Ness monster had mated with a hydra. The emerald body was serpentine with half a dozen heads sprouting from one end. It had ten scales on its back that were a much lighter shade of grass green with sky blue flecks. They would have been almost mesmerizing if not for their massive size and the fact that they lathered Jason in goo when he attempted to use one as leverage.

Nico had taken shelter behind a large crate of some sort, and he seemed to be muttering to himself. Frank was flitting around overhead in the form of a falcon, darting in at times to try puncturing the beast's eyes. Hazel was trying to find sunken treasure to hurl, while Leo attempted to shoot fireballs down Nagini's throat whenever it roared. Piper was below decks, trying to recover from a twenty-four-hour flu that she had caught sometime in Rome. It was odd how someone who was supposed to be a hero could get such a mortal virus. Nevertheless, she couldn't be counted on to help in battle for a while.

Coach Hedge was not being much help, either. He was running around on deck, brandishing his club, and screaming "DIE!" repeatedly.

In his distracted state, Jason hadn't noticed one of the serpent's heads flying towards him, and he barely snapped to his senses in time to chop the head off, saving himself. Unfortunately, from the severed neck sprouted two new necks – definitely a relative of a hydra.

"Styx," he cursed, making a split second decision and flying back onto the deck beside Nico.

The boy opened his eyes wearily, "What's happening?"

Nico's eyes were bloodshot against the midnight iris. His face was drawn and pale from a week of starvation and a near death experience, meekly followed by a short meal and eight hours of rest. He looked dead on his feet, but Jason knew that he would be their best chance at defeating Nagini.

"The venti are gone, but we have a bigger problem now. Look," Jason said, inclining his head to the attacking creature behind them. Hazel, Leo, and Frank were still fighting furiously, but they wouldn't hold out long on their own.

"What the Hades is that?" Nico yelped, springing to his feet and drawing his Stygian Iron sword that scared Jason more than the monster. When Nico had warned them to never touch the weapon, he had explained how his blade could reap a soul with a single touch. Ever since, the sight of it had sent chills up Jason's spine.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed. "I was hoping you would! We're near Greece now. It's probably a Greek monster, and I don't know much of that mythology."

"I haven't stayed at either camp long enough to learn the myths very well. Why would you expect me to know?" Nico responded. "Oh, it doesn't matter right now; how do we defeat it?"

"No idea; right now I have just been trying to stay alive. We need your help; care to join us?"

"Yeah, of course," came the response, followed by a squeak of pain from Hazel as the one of Nagini's heads snapped down and made contact with her.

"Hazel!" Frank yelled, having flown back onto the deck, and morphed back into human form. Nico and Jason abandoned their conversation, rushing over to make sure she was all right.

"Fine, I'm fine," she muttered, rising shakily to her feet. Three gashes ran down the length of her upper arm, from the bicep to just above the elbow. Still, she scooped up her spatha and returned to concentrating on defeating Nagini.

Jason and Nico were already way ahead of her. Jason took off into the air, thrusting his gladius towards the sky and praying to his father for just one lightning bolt. Meanwhile, Nico ran and stood beside his sister protectively, jabbing his sword into the wood of the deck. Leo yelled out in protest, ever protective of his beloved ship. Just then, the whole ship rocked violently. Thunder rumbled, and shadowy figures emerged from the ground, forming into a small skeletal army.

Immediately, Nico passed out, but the army continued to fight, flinging themselves at Nagini. There were about twenty of them to begin with, and about a third of them re-died within the first attack. Jason stood there stunned for the first few seconds as heads snapped down repeatedly, snatching up the undead warriors into its snapping jaws. Then, both he and Frank flew at the beast with renewed strength, cutting deep gashes in some parts of the monster's body. Leo torched the wounds immediately after they were made, causing even more pain. Apparently, Hazel had finally found some precious metals in the sea, because suddenly a big chunk of mixed jewels flew up and hit the enemy straight in the chest. Jason could hear the bones crunching sickeningly under the weight as the sea-monster crashed down into the Mare Nostrum once more, its chest caved in.

The two boys flew back to the Argo II wearily, landing right beside their friends. Leo was grinning hugely, while Hazel leaned on him, clearly on the verge of passing out. Coach Hedge was still running along the railing of the ship, shouting taunts and challenges at the monster.

"Nice one, Hazel," Jason congratulated, receiving a tired nod in return.

Frank walked up to his girlfriend, pulling her close and leading her to the lower deck after smiling gratefully at Leo. It was nice to see the two of them getting along so well after the week of hostility.

"We should get Nico down to the infirmary. He refuses to stay in Percy's room, you know, so he really has nowhere else to sleep, and I have a feeling that he'll be under for a while. Poor guy has had a rough week," Leo said, heading towards the unconscious son of Pluto… er, Hades.

Figuring that it would be a good idea, Jason followed, ordering the wind to hold Nico in the air. It was a useful trick that he had learned when they were trying to get back on the ship before Tartarus could suck them in, back in Arachne's lair. He had used it subconsciously to get Hazel and Nico up the ladder faster, and for the last day he had been practicing on small objects in between monster battles.

Leo looked at him oddly, seeming to be a little bit annoyed but also grateful. "Well, if you can do it on your own, I guess I should go back to steering."

"I got this, thanks man," Jason responded, feeling a bit guilty. He didn't get the chance to hang out with Leo a lot, since they were always off doing different things back in Camp Half-Blood. Leo would be building the ship, and Jason would hang out with Piper or teach Annabeth more about Camp Jupiter while discussing her boyfriend's survival chances. Sometimes, it felt like this was causing them to drift apart. Occasionally, Jason felt that it made Leo feel unimportant and unwanted.

Leo just nodded and walked away mutely. He was still grinning, but it seemed just a tad more forced. Ashamed, Jason turned and walked down the stairs to the sick bay, toting Nico along behind him. Maybe Piper would even be awake and he could talk to her.

Perhaps they could work out a way to defeat Gaea, or save Percy and Annabeth too.

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**Anons:  
Guest- Next time, probably. Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing!**


	4. IV Jason

**This is SO short and SO late and you have no idea how sorry I am! Please don't hate me, o' faithful reviewers or new people. It's been a busy week, for once. Quite odd.. I'm not used to it at all. ANYWAYS, enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review! Thanks for those of you who favorite, stalk, and review my stories!  
**

**Disclaimer: Me no own anything.  
**

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**IV**

**Jason**

Piper was already sitting up in her bed, gazing into her knife, when Jason walked in. She looked up wearily, and he saw how pale and flushed the flu had made her skin, complete with the glassy eyes and feverish attitude. He ordered the air around Nico to drop him onto another of the beds in the room, while he went and sat beside his girlfriend.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, laying a hand on her forehead, trying to gauge her temperature.

"Like a piece of schist, but your concern is flattering," she responded wryly, pulling away from his touch. "You shouldn't get too close to me; I don't want to make you sick."

He chuckled, and took her clammy hand, "I don't care if I get sick, it'd be worth it. I won't get sick, though. Never have, never will."

"You say that now…" she muttered in response, but this time she didn't pull away.

He smiled at her, "So what's your demonic knife of doom showing you today?"

"It's not _demonic_," she laughed, swatting him halfheartedly on the arm, "and all it's shown me is a small city with a name. Sort of like what happened with Topeka and Mr. D., only this time there's no one beckoning to me."

"Well what place is it? Your knife shows one of two things – impending doom or a place you need to go – and we should probably follow its directions."

She hesitated, "Paris. It shows me _Paris_ of all places. I have no idea why, but if it's the city of love I have a horrible feeling that my mother is behind this."

Jason shuddered inwardly. All their meetings with various gods ended up in some disaster, and they _really_ could not afford any more of _those_.

Seeing his expression, Piper nodded mutely, flinging Katoptris to the ground. "Stupid weapon, why can't you be more helpful?" she muttered savagely.

Jason bent over and scooped the blade up, setting it gingerly on the nightstand. While he agreed that the blade's powers weren't very helpful, it was Piper's only physical defense. It wouldn't do them any good if it broke or if someone stabbed themselves in the foot with it.

"If it showed you Paris, we should go there, right?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, but Paris is huge. How will we know where to go?"

"Didn't you see anything else? Like a street name or a building? How did you even know it was Paris and not some other city with similar building designs?"

"I saw the Eiffel Tower, which is a pretty obvious indicator. Nothing else, though," she added with futility.

Jason squeezed her hand in reassurance, "Don't worry. Whatever it is, it will find us as always."

"I guess, but usually we end up in trouble when things come to find us."

"Fair enough," he chuckled, pulling her towards him in a hug.

He winced inwardly at the shocked pleasure on her face. Had he really been that negligent to their relationship? It was hard to tell, after all that had happened in the last week.

"Do you think they're all right? Percy and Annabeth, I mean," she said after a moment, sounding frailer than ever. Jason found himself wondering just how tired the ailment was making her, and whether he should leave.

"Like Nico said, they're strong and they have each other. You saw how different Annabeth was after she got Percy back. I think that they'll be fine as long as they're together, no matter where they are."

"You're right," she nodded. "I'm just worried about them. Nico also said that the pit could drive anyone insane. What if being together is a weakness for them too?"

"Don't stress about it, Pipes. They'll live through it and we'll get them out. Leo has already started studying those spheres of his."

She nodded again mutely, and after a few minutes, Jason heard her breathing slow. Gingerly, he laid her back on the pillow, standing up. After checking briefly to assure that Nico was all right, he decided it would be best to inform whoever was manning the till – probably Leo – to reverse course and head to Paris.

When he got to the wheel, he was only slightly surprised to see Coach Hedge steering the ship, bellowing old sailor's songs at the top of his lungs. Leo was probably in his cabin, poring over the spheres and scrolls that he had saved from the underground workshop.

"Hedge!" Jason called.

The old satyr turned his head to acknowledge Jason's presence, but he kept belting out the shanties with the same rambunctious force.

"Coach! I need to tell you something!"

Abruptly, he stopped singing. "In the middle of the tune, Grace? What's so important?"

"We need to go to Paris," Jason explained.

"Paris? Why? We're almost to Epirus!"

"Piper saw it in her knife. Someone was trying to send us a message."

"The same knife that sent you to talk to Dionysus, resulting in both you and Percy in the sickbay with head injuries?" Coach inquired.

"Yep."

"I'll reverse course, then. There's something weird about that weapon, Grace. I don't trust it, but it's best to not question magic items."

"Thanks Coach."

"Yeah, well I ain't doing it for you. How's McLean doing?"

"She looked better. We talked for a while, but she's sleeping now. It was probably one of those twenty-four hour flus."

"Let's hope so, and let's hope that it doesn't spread. I can take on monsters, but it's you demigods that have to do the questing, you hear?"

"Yes sir," Jason said, trying very hard to not sound derisive.

"Good. Now go tell the others exactly what your girlfriend saw in that blade of hers."

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**Sorry for that schistiness at the end, too! **


	5. V Reyna

**Back for another week! Notice, I changed the summary to say "lots of regular ships." I did this because there's gonna be Jeyna in with the Jasper, Percabeth, and Frazel, and I may slip in a bit of Lazel. That's it, I swear. I would've added just that, but there was no more room :P Oh well, enjoy chapter five!  
Disclaimer: Me no own.  
Dedication: Lovley reviewers... And my sis. 'Cause she's dealing with bad friends.  
**

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**V**

**Reyna**

She was standing in the room of some motel, listening to the others arguing over how best to attack.

"Well what do you think, _Praetor_," Octavian sneered at last. Reyna had stayed out of the conversation for the most part, trying to plan her own counterattack.

"Octavian, why would we go straight over the hill?" she asked, exasperated. "That would simply put them at the defensive advantage. Not to mention the dragon that would fry us all to ashes."

"Praetor, attacking by my suggested route would put us in our best offensive position. If we go in by the woods as you suggest, we will be scattered and most probably left to one-on-one combat. Might I remind you that this would put the Greeks at an advantage seeing as they are trained for such a thing?" Octavian countered smoothly with fluent words; lathering on snide charm.

"Why not go in near the beach? They will be attacked from the inside unknowingly, giving us the element of surprise." contributed Dakota.

Reyna smiled on the inside. Dakota knew of her plans, and they had been discussing this on the trip east. They were loyal to Rome, but Jason and Percy were both praetors and laying a hand against their cause would be treacherous. Not to mention, Jason had been a long-time friend for them both. They would never sabotage him, so instead they worked on gathering whatever Romans were still loyal to the three praetors, and had been plotting a downfall to Octavian's attack.

"All in favor?" Reyna asked. Over half the hands shot up, causing Octavian to scowl and a feeling of triumph to enter her. "Motion passed; we will attack in one week."

"Very well," Octavian stated, before stalking out of the room.

"Meeting adjourned," announced Reyna formally. Once everyone left, she turned to look straight at Percy. She knew what a dream form of a person looked like, and she was probably one of the few people who knew how to detect spying presences. She'd seen Percy when he had appeared in the room and the sight had boosted her confidence. Maybe now he could warn the Greeks!

"Warn your camp, Jackson. I cannot stop them, but I can give your people a fair chance. Do not hate Dakota or I - any of the fifth cohort for that matter. Most of them are confused, under blackmail, or helping to undermine Octavian as I am. It is the other four cohorts that are split between loyalty to Octavian and respect for allies. When the battle comes, I shall attempt to halt it, but that does not eliminate the possibility of bloodshed. It took much risk to even show you this, though it was the least I could do to warn you. May the gods be with you, praetor."

Then, she left the "meeting" room, heading towards her own small bedroom. Reyna knew that she was leaving Percy behind with a whole load of confusion to sort out, but she couldn't dawdle. Octavian may still be lurking about, and if he discovered her plans, they would have no chance of thwarting them.

Exhausted, she collapsed on the bed immediately, stretching out, and staring at the ceiling. She knew that Annabeth had thought she had romantic feelings for the Greek, but just then, all that entered her mind was Jason. They had been best friends since she was nine – he had been the one to show her around camp and teach her the basics. They had fought together during the siege of Mt. Othrys and became praetors together. They used to hang out on the weekends when they didn't have training or paperwork. Then, he disappeared and she went through eight months of agonizing worry. The night before he went missing, he had almost kissed her, but she had pulled away. Reyna had never been the romantic, loving type. Now, she regretted it.

What hurt most was that he came back. He returned with a ship full of Greeks and a girlfriend. He had stayed for half a day, which hadn't even been spent with her, and then his Greek friend had ruined everything and they had been forced to flee. Reyna should have hated the Greeks, wanted to destroy them, but she didn't. Jason had changed, but it wasn't their fault and they couldn't have stopped it. Nonetheless, she would have taken never seeing him again over the hurt and betrayal she felt now.

"What is _wrong_ with me?" she muttered crossly. Moping about some… _Man._ What would Circe say? Then again, did she care what Circe would say? Her former master had abandoned her, whether intentionally or not, and even before that, she had made her into a prissy little doll.

Sighing, she rolled onto her side to stare at the bare wall. It just didn't seem fair that he would blow her off like that. Juno's fault or not, he could have remembered her, just as Percy had remembered Annabeth. Otherwise, he could have acted friendlier to her. She just wanted their friendship back, at the very least. The only words they had exchanged had been icy and forced, but she yearned for the old familiarity that she associated with the memories of him. He had used to look out for her, even when she didn't want nor need it. Now, she felt horrible for pushing him away all those years. She would take it all back now if it meant getting him back and reestablishing their friendship. It seemed as though that could never happen, now. Not after Piper; not after Charleston. Not after her leading an attack on the Greek camp.

Cursing herself for thinking like a martyr, she squeezed her eyes shut and fell into a fitful sleep. Any other issues, she would deal with in the morning.


	6. VI Percy

**Hi! Sorry this is late again... No excuse, really. But, it's here now.  
Enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
**

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**VI**

**Percy**

"Annabeth, wake up!" he hissed, shaking her as lightly as possible while still administering enough force.

Luckily for them, she was a light sleeper, and after numerous quests together it was mutual knowledge that if you're being shaken awake you had better wake up _now._

"What?" she yelped, leaping to her feet and pulling her dagger out. Immediately, her broken ankle gave out and her knees buckled.

Percy caught her before she could hit the ground, and pulled her back to a sitting position. "_Dracaenae_; stay quiet and maybe we can get out of here before they catch us. No way will we be able to fight in this condition, and we only have a little bit of ambrosia anyways. We have to save it for emergencies."

"We can't possibly outrun them forever, Seaweed Brain, but I guess it's all we can do for now. Come on," she replied, hauling herself to her feet more slowly this time.

He rose up as well, took her hand, and together they started running. Behind them, a trail of hissing and slithering was gaining fast; Annabeth's ankle was slowing them down. Still, they leapt over a fallen tree and kept…

A fallen tree? Shocked, Percy pulled to a stop, and Annabeth stumbled.

"Percy?" she asked, spinning around to face him. "What's wrong?"

"Trees! Annabeth, there's trees! And trees live off water. There has to be water nearby; if there is, I can fight them! And we won't dehydrate."

"Seaweed Brain, what are you _talking _about? I don't see any trees… Keep running!"

"No, Annabeth don't you see? There's trees! They're brown and green and everything!"

"Percy, there are no trees anywhere nearby. Please, come _on,_" Annabeth urged. She took his hand, and he felt her trying to pull him away. He heard the crackling noises of the enemy approaching rapidly, but all he felt was a strange sense of calm. He was in his element. There was water all around. He could face them.

"Percy? Percy!" he heard her call, trying to get his attention. Too late, he was already running towards the forest at top speed. He had to hurry; he had to get there before the _dracaenae_ could get to him. Fortunately, Annabeth was following behind him, because he was not sure he would have waited for her otherwise.

"Percy, we're going right back towards them," she informed him.

"We're going to water," he called back, still sprinting.

He slowed down slightly as the trees thinned, allowing her to catch up with him and grab him by the arm. "Percy, are you feeling okay? There's nothing here," she said, her voice unusually soft.

He shrugged her off. Not even twenty feet away was a big crater in the ground, but instead of being full of water, as he had expected, it was filled with the black oily liquid that had been in the well back in Rome. A cool weight of dread and fear settled in his chest. He could not face that suffocating fluid again. The first time had been panicky enough, and that was when they had had resources.

Trembling, he raised his hands, trying to bend the 'water' to his will. As he had expected, it did not budge. Suddenly, all around him was skeletons: huge carcasses of manatees, horses, seals, fish, and even mermaids. All sorts of dead creatures now littered the ground. He backed up quickly, stumbling over his own feet as he went. Annabeth caught him before he could fall.

"Annabeth," he muttered, "what _happened_ to this place?"

"Nothing's here, it's all in your head. Tartarus is messing with you, Percy. Try to ignore it, we have to hurry and get out of here before that army catches us."

He nodded, and she pulled him away from the intoxicated landscape, back towards the barren black wasteland. Too late, though. The _dracaenae_ army was already upon them.

"Gods this is _so_ not good," Annabeth muttered, moving so that the two of them were now back-to-back.

"I think it's getting worse," Percy whispered back.

Sure enough, just as he said that, a woman weaved her way through the crowd of circling snake women. "Hello dears, long time no see, yes?"

"Percy, close your eyes!" Annabeth hissed, and he could feel her body tense up.

He squeezed his eyes closed, reached into his pocket for Riptide. "Medusa," he stammered out, but his voice was still shaking from his previous panic.

"Of course, son of Poseidon. So precious, you were. All grown up now, and quite a big hero. However, there is no mirror for you down here now, my dear. You are in my master's territory now, and I can keep coming back. This is no place for the living. You have already had a taste of what is in store for you. How was that, dear? The trees, corrupted water, and your father's dead subjects? There is no escaping it, now."

Percy heard her, and a part of him wanted to fight back. He wanted to say something smart, but all he could do was hold his sword in one shaking hand and tremble. Annabeth had not yet experienced the alarm that came from hope twisting into nightmares. He didn't want to go through any more of it, and he definitely did not want her to even get a taste of it. Nevertheless, he knew he had to pull himself together. He was a hero – the savior of Olympus – and he could not afford to be afraid, even in Tartarus.

"Leave us alone," he said, surprised at how steady his voice was.

"Oh tut, tut. I had thought you were smarter than that, boy. I cannot leave, you see. My master has sent me here to either destroy or capture you, and I will have my revenge. You cost me years, and now you will pay with your sanity."

"Why would Gaea send_ you?_" Annabeth demanded. Her voice was reproachful and strong. Percy felt pride flare up inside him at her.

He heard Medusa scowl, "Daughter of _Athena_. Your mother would be ashamed of you. Dragging dear Percy here into this abyss, when he was the best chance you had to defeating us was bad enough. But now? Pathetic. Gaea is not my master. Oh no, we are all in her plans, but I follow someone who is easier to be around. Almost human, you may say."

"Why don't you just kill us, if that's what you were sent to do?" Percy challenged.

"Because, my dear," Medusa replied, she was so close that her snakelike hair tickled his cheek, "that would be of more trouble to them. They need your blood."

At that, the _dracaenae_ hissed in unison. He felt the gorgon smile against his forehead. "Attack," she hissed.

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**Happy Holidays! Hope you all have a great New Year, I'll see you in 2013!**


	7. VII Percy

**Would it help if I said I thought today was Thursday? xD Not even kidding... Took me till about noon to realize it was Saturday and then I bolted to the computer. So here's chapter Seven! Enjoy and please review! :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO or anything about them.  
**

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**VII**

**Percy**

The action around him became a blur of high-speed movement. He was barely aware of Medusa, her long fingernails digging into his shoulders, dragging him out of the way and holding him in place to keep him from fighting back. He watched through slightly squinted eyes in horror as Annabeth, wielding her dagger, tried in vain to fight off the massive army. They swarmed her almost instantly, and it wasn't long before they got the upper hand. As they jumped her like a pack of dogs would to a bag of meat, he heard her cry out, but he could not seem to move. He just watched stonily, hating the monsters for what they were doing, and hating himself for what he wasn't, but it all felt like a dream to him.

Then, one of the snakes that made up Medusa's grotesque hair came a little too close, nipping his ear, and he snapped out of it in a flash. Squeezing his eyes the last fraction of an inch shut, he whirled around with Riptide, feeling it lodge its way into the gorgon's torso, slicing with sickening power. Medusa shrieked in agony, and he pulled his sword free, racing to the crowd of _dracaenae_ to help Annabeth.

He heard her shriek in agony again, from somewhere inside the rolling mass. "Annabeth!" he scream, hacking a path. It was impossible; wherever he struck one if the serpent women down, another quickly took its place. He felt one grab hold of the back of his shirt, and he was pulled down. All he could see now was a swirling green, grey, and black mass. All he could feel was stabs of pain in various places on his body as they darted in and out with quick blows, trying to avoid his sword's sharp blade.

"Annabeth!" he called again, more furtively this time. He couldn't believe it; they had survived so much – even the fall into Tartarus – and now an army of snake women would take them out? It wasn't as if they had never faced something like this before, but then they'd always had friends to help.

"Perce, where _are_ you?" he heard her call from nearby. It was then that he knew he at least wanted to die fighting, with her by his side, if he was going to go down at all. He pushed upward, trying to get to his feet, the weight of the army nearly crushing him as he struggled –

Then, he was falling again, all the pressure and commotion gone. He heard someone else in the darkness yelp in surprise.

"Wise Girl, was that you?" he asked softly, part of him scolding himself for hoping it was.

"Yeah," he heard her say, surprise evident in her voice. "Perce, what just _happened_?"

He chuckled despite himself, "Wow, Annabeth Chase not understanding something. What _would_ your mother say?"

"Oh shut up," she muttered savagely. The darkness felt as though it were suspending them lightly, in the middle of nowhere. It was nothing like the rushing speed of the previous fall.

"To answer your question," he continued, "I'm pretty sure we were just attacked by Medusa and an army of snake-ladies. If I remember correctly, they got the best of us, and we were overwhelmed and about to die, when everything vanished except us, and we were plunged into this darkness."

"Thank you, captain obvious," she said, sarcasm dripping off every word. "I meant, what is the darkness, why did it happen, and what happened to Medusa?"

"Oh, well I can answer one of those! I killed Medusa, but since we're in the depths of Hell ourselves, I think we'll be seeing her again quite soon. As for the darkness and stuff, I have no idea."

"Wonderful. So now, the creatures down here hate us even more. I wouldn't have thought it possible."

"Annabeth," Percy said, feeling laughter bubbling up in his throat. "They already hated us to maximum capacity. I bet that we personally sent at least twenty percent of the creatures down here where they are."

"You have a point," she muttered.

"Wise Girl," he tried, voice hesitant. "Do you think we're falling?"

"Well, I guess it's likely. If we are, it's lasted a long time…" she trailed off, and he heard the masked anxiety in her voice. Tentatively, he reached out to her through the darkness.

"Try to follow the sound of my voice," he said. "We should stick together, just in case."

"All right, but that means you have to keep talking, Seaweed Brain. I can't follow your voice if I can't hear it."

"Okay. So we are falling or being suspended in utter darkness, not seeing, but hearing just fine. Hey, maybe we're dead and our souls could not get to the Underworld because we were in Tartarus. That'd be something, wouldn't it?"

He stopped talking when he felt her punch him, and grinned. Then, he took her hand out of the darkness and held it tight. Suddenly, it felt as though she would completely disappear if he let go, or even loosened his grip.

"Percy, we've started moving," she hissed suddenly, startling him.

Sure enough, there was a ghastly wind rushing through and around them, the only sure sign that they were falling. Percy was suddenly very glad that he was holding on to Annabeth so tightly, because he couldn't seem to move and the wind would have surely whipped them apart otherwise. There was a whooshing sound in his ears, and the sensation of the drop rattled him to his bones.

Then, as quickly as it had started, they came to a stop. Percy stumbled as his feet hit solid ground, a painful shock going up them as he landed. The endless blackness faded into a harsh grey, once again casting eerie shadows around the pair of them.

"Where are we now?" Annabeth muttered, her tone bitter and cynical. Percy grinned, now _that_ was Annabeth.

"Who cares?" he asked. "We're away from that army, aren't we? And while we have some time to spare, we might as well try to think of some way to find the Doors and get out of here."

"Devise a strategy?" his girlfriend asked, her tone incredulous. "There's an army of monsters after us, Seaweed Brain! Not to mention that we're in the _lair_ of the worst creatures Chaos created. We don't really have time to stop and talk."

"So we won't stop," he offered, determined. "We can walk and talk, that way we're on the move and strategizing."

Annabeth hesitated, and then nodded. "Okay, come on."

"Uh, which way are we going?" he inquired. All around them was nothing but grey landscape, adorned with skeletal trees.

She looked at him, her face grim, and her eyes uncharacteristically fearful. He noticed a streak of blood running down her left temple, how she was leaning heavily on her good foot. They had only been down there for a day, the last he'd heard, and if things went on like this, they would need some nectar or ambrosia soon. Unfortunately, they had nothing to work with except the clothes on their bodies and their weapons. Annabeth's fallen laptop and backpack with supplies were most likely long gone, back in the last phase of the abyss, and there was no use hoping they would magically appear.

"Percy, that's it!" his companion exclaimed. He looked at her, puzzled, and then realized he had been speaking aloud. "Tartarus is just a maze of dimensions! We fell through the folds of the first layer, and this must be the second. I just wonder how they work…"

A cold voice chuckled out of the bleak silence, causing them both to jump despite themselves. "Silly demigods, why would you try to understand it?" came a gravelly voice. "No use pondering something that even the greater powers do not know. You should have run while you had the chance."

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**Anons:**

**Hi- Hi there! Yeah, my chapters aren't very long :/ But hopefully they're good quality! I update every Friday, usually. Except when I forget... Which is most weeks. O.o Hope you stick with this story, thanks for the review!  
**


	8. VIII Jason

**Another short and late chapter! Yayyyy.. hehe well, enjoy :3  
****Disclaimer: Me no own**

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**VIII**

**Jason**

He had called a crew meeting, and now they sat around the table, picking at small breakfasts that no one really had an appetite for. It was the next morning, and the only member of the crew who was missing was Piper, along with the obvious and heavy absences of Percy and Annabeth. Hazel was sitting beside her now fully awake brother, and Coach Hedge was next to them, leaving Frank and Leo sitting together; something that neither of them looked particularly pleased about. Leo was the only one eating, completely unfazed by the solemn mood. He was probably used to it, Jason figured, shrugging it off.

"So all Beauty Queen saw in her knife was some weird ominous vision of the Eiffel Tower?" Leo asked, taking a big bite of his cereal. "Why should we trust it? That blade has shown us nothing but trouble, after all."

Jason looked at him, "Exactly. Trouble is going to find us either way, and I would rather find it before it finds us. Anyways, Pipes thinks her mother might be behind it, and we don't want to upset a goddess; especially one that actually kind of likes us."

Leo grinned, "I guess upsetting the goddess of love wouldn't do us any favors, huh?"

Frank shot him a sideways glare, and Nico chuckled softly. Hazel must have noticed the light tension that now settled over the room, because she looked up from her plate of eggs. "We should go just in case. Percy said that Aphrodite liked to mess with him and Annabeth a lot, so maybe she will have advice on how we can help them."

Nico looked at her, doubtful hope plain on his face. The kid was taking the whole situation worse than any of them, which was really saying something, all things considered. Jason knew that he believed it was his fault, since he had not been able to pull his friends up. "It isn't likely," Nico was saying now, "but maybe. Either way, I've spent enough time travelling to know that you can't just ignore it when you are being summoned somewhere. Horrible things happen, and we can't afford something like that now."

"So what, the satyr don't get any say in this?" Coach interrupted, glaring meaningfully at them all. Jason felt a tiny twinge of guilt for leaving the chaperone out of the conversation. Hedge was beating himself up as much as the rest of them, and he had not even been as intent on killing as many harmless things, lately. Jason had hoped that a good 'war meeting' would cheer him up, but the satyr was still more forlorn than ever before.

"Sorry Coach," Jason said, "what do you think we should do?"

Hedge looked a little shocked at actually being allowed a say, but then a smug expression masked it. "We should go. There might be some monsters in Paris that need a beating, and we shouldn't keep them waiting."

Jason sighed inwardly; he should have known that Coach would make some comment about killing monsters. "All right, we'll do a vote. Raise your hand if you want to go to Paris."

To his surprise, they all raised their hand; even Leo. "It's settled then; we'll start towards Paris and see what's in store for us. Coach, can you go switch the course, please?"

Hedge grinned at him, rising from the table. "'Course I will, Grace."

Then, he left, singing what Jason suspected was an old sea shanty at the top of his lungs. Jason turned back to the others, "Anyone else have anything they want to say, while we're all still here?"

He saw Leo fidget nervously in his seat, but when his friend said nothing, he shrugged it off. Leo was always moving, and they had been sitting still for quite a while now. No one else seemed to have anything to say, so after a moment of sitting there, Jason thanked them and went to check on Piper. She was still in the infirmary resting, although her fever had finally broken the night before.

Sure enough, when he got there, she was asleep in one of the beds, knife clutched in one hand while the other cradled the pillow.

"Wait," she muttered as he turned to leave. He stopped dead in his tracks and spun to face her again. Her eyes were open now, and she was looking at him curiously. A yawn forced its way out of her mouth as she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "How did the meeting go?"

Jason had visited her earlier that morning, and had told her about his plan. She, in turn, had agreed to stay and rest as long as he promised to tell her all about it afterwards. "It went well," he said, "Coach is turning us around to head towards Paris now. I just hope that there is nothing too bad waiting for us there. It'd be nice to get some good news for once."

She grinned at him tiredly, and he felt his heart flutter in his chest. Immediately, he pushed the feeling down. He loved Piper, but he had to focus on the task at hand.

"So they listened to you. After Kansas, I wasn't sure they would trust my knife at all. Did they all agree? Or just the majority?" she asked, fiddling with the handle on Katoptris.

"All of them voted to go, don't worry," he assured her, taking her hand to stop it from fidgeting.

"I'm not worried, exactly. Not about that, at least," she muttered. "I just don't want anything bad to happen there."

"Well, we don't know what's going to happen, but good or bad we'll all be fine. We've made it this long, who's to say we can't do it again?"

"You have a point, but I'll still feel better when this is all over," she muttered.

Jason chuckled, "I think we all will."


	9. IX Hazel

**No real excuses, but I was gone all last weekend. So here's a longerish chapter with Hazel and a tad of Lazel as a lousy apology. I hope you're all still here, because you're all awesome! Enjoy :)  
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any book. Especially not anything in the PJO/HoO universe.  
**

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**IX**

**Hazel**

She was sick to her stomach, to say the least. Sure, she would "suck it up" as some of the other legionnaires would put it, but that was just because she _had _to, in order to fight. Even though it was in the air now, the _Argo II_ rocked far too much for her liking. In between the battles, meetings, and meals, Hazel spent most of her time in her cabin, trying not to vomit. Whether the others knew about this or not, she could not be sure. If they did, Frank was the only one to act on it. She hadn't planned on telling him – she didn't want him to worry – but he had been the one to alert her that the _venti_ were attacking, and she just happened to be in the middle of a wave of illness.

It had only been about twelve hours since, but already Frank was doing exactly what she had hoped to avoid. He would peek into her room every hour or so for various reasons… Or so he claimed. One time, it had just been to talk about the fight, another had been to inform her about the meeting Jason was calling, and a third was to say goodnight. As annoying as it was, his intentions were good so she didn't say anything. Now, as she was hurling into a bucket she had kept throughout the last week and a half, she almost wished he were there.

Almost, but not quite – she was still a Roman, and there was a large measure of pride that kept her from telling the others. Unfortunately, that also meant she could not talk to anyone about Percy, or even Annabeth. That one of the letdowns of banishing yourself from your friends – there was no real socialism. She hadn't even known Percy for that long, but already he had been like a big brother to her. Like Nico, only more openly cheerful and social with everyone else.

She missed him horribly, and it had not even been two days. Not to mention, Jason was acting like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders alone, now. She supposed that he w_as_ the leader of the quest, but still. He should give the rest of them a little more credit.

Suddenly, the ship lurched, interrupting her thinking and causing her to heave up her meager breakfast into the pail. "Ugh," she moaned, wiping her mouth with the washing cloth she kept by her bed. They must have been turning around to head towards Paris. She supposed it was about time – the meeting had been a half hour ago – but still, she wished the _Argo II_ were a little smoother. It would be nice to keep a meal in her stomach for more than an hour or two at a time.

A light knock came from her door, and she rushed to hide all evidence of her seasickness. Frank's knocks were sturdier than that… And he thought she was resting, anyways. If the others found out, they would treat her differently, and just when they were starting to get used to her, too!

Satisfied that she had tucked the bucket safely under her mattress, she took a deep breath, "Come in."

The knob twisted, and Leo's face appeared, grinning awkwardly with the usual mischief in his eyes, "Hey."

"Hi, Leo," she said, standing up and going over to the door. "What do you need?"

He looked a little hurt by that, but quickly recovered his grin, "What makes you think I _need_ anything? Is it a crime to want to talk to your friend? But if you don't want to, I guess I'll just go…"

"No!" she yelped, grabbing his arm as he tried to turn and leave. He turned back toward her, his face clearly amused, and she grinned sheepishly. "No, that's okay, we can talk. Come in."

With that, she stepped back from the doorway and hesitantly walked back to sit in her simple desk chair. While the other six demigods had more personalized rooms, she and Frank were given simpler living spaces, and they had kept them that way. Leo sat down on the edge of her bed, facing her.

"So what's up, Hazy Haze?" he asked, using his annoying nickname for her. "You haven't left your room much since Rome – we've missed you."

Hazel stiffened a little bit; why hadn't she made an effort to be more discreetly absent? Of _course_ they had noticed after such a long time. She had a feeling that all the others were keeping an eye on her, since she was the youngest, in a way. Everyone looks out for the youngest, which could be both flattering and annoying.

As quickly as she had bristled against his remark, she relaxed again. "I've just been tired, Leo. We don't exactly get a lot of sleep, what with fighting monsters every other hour and trying to figure out what in Tar- er, Hades, we're doing," she tried explaining, grimacing inwardly as she stuttered over and around the word Tartarus. Hopefully, Leo had not noticed; she didn't think she would be able to stand it if he went on thinking it was his fault any longer.

"Hmm," he murmured, seemingly to himself. "Well, I think I know what our next mini-lesson will be on, my apprentice. You are a terrible liar, and we will have to improve that. For now, just tell me what's _really_ been going on. You can trust me."

Hazel thought up a string of words that would have made even the nicest of the nuns at St. Agnes's scrub her mouth with soap. "Forget it," she muttered, fiddling with the frayed hem of her Camp Jupiter shirt. She hadn't had time to change since last night, and the hydra serpent had managed to tear up the shirt pretty badly.

Leo reached over and flicked her knee, "I'm not gonna forget that easy, so you might as well just tell me what's wrong. I promise that I won't judge or embarrass you or tell anyone or anything."

She glared daggers at him, "Why do you want to know, anyways?"

"'Cause I'm your friend, my young apprentice, and I'm worried about you," he retorted, grinning crookedly at her. Then, his eyes flitted to her bedside table and the grin lessened. "Haze, what's that?" he asked, pointing to the cloth she had been using to wipe the vomit from her mouth.

Well schist. She made a move to block it with her body, trying to scoop it under her bed with the bucket… But Leo grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back gently. She hung her head, unable to meet his eyes. "I uh, get really seasick," she muttered. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell the others – only Frank knows, and now you do too."

"Seasick?" he questioned, looking both confused and concerned. "We're in the air; how can you be seasick?"

"We're on a ship, and it rocks like one. There's no way around it, but the motion makes my stomach tie into knots and my whole body to feel queasy. That leads to vomiting and just a very unpleasant time, over all. Not nice at all."

His face relaxed into an amused smile, "Sorry my ship rocks around so much, it must suck for you."

She smiled a little, "Yes, pretty much. Did you just come here to find out why I haven't been around, or was there something else?"

"Well-" he began, but a loud crash, followed by the whole ship coming to a shuddery stop, immediately cut him off. He cursed something that sounded Greek under his breath, then leapt up from the edge of her bed. "I'll be right back! Buford probably banged into something in the engine room again…"

With that, he raced from the room. Curious, and with the sneaking suspicion that it had not been Leo's magic table, Hazel followed him. They made it to the door of the engine room in about a minute, which must have been record time. Then, they heard Coach Hedge above them give an indignant yell from the controls.

That was when she and Leo went weightless, and the whole ship plummeted towards the ground.


	10. X Reyna

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews! And now, welcome to chapter ten. Enjoy!  
**

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**X**

**Reyna**

The loyal legionnaires fanned out before her in a large, yet disappointingly small group. Dakota, Bobby, and about forty others gathered around the table in Reyna's room to work out a plan capable of undermining Octavian. So far, they did not have many ideas, and it was obvious that some of them were beginning to regret joining the meeting. To make it even more difficult, Reyna's dreams the night before had confirmed that Percy had never gotten the message to his camp, and would not be able to, in time. They had no way to contact the Greeks.

"Praetor," Bobby said suddenly, raising his hand in a tentative school-like gesture. "If I may, I think I have an idea."

Reyna looked up from the shoddy guess-filled map of the Greek camp that she had been working on. "Yes? You may speak."

Bobby took a deep breath, and then began. "I believe that the answer to our problems has been staring us straight in the eye the whole time. You said Percy – sorry, Praetor Jackson – cannot get the message to his camp? They need to know. If that means we send someone into their camp as a sort of spy, then so be it."

"A spy?" Reyna asked, one eyebrow raised. "Why in the name of Jupiter would we need a spy?"

The legionnaire looked taken aback. "Perhaps I should rephrase myself. I merely meant that we should consider sending in a willing legionnaire to warn the Greeks, and live among them until the battle. Help them prepare and learn the faces of who is dead-set against them."

"Do you suggest that we tell the Greeks our battle techniques, strategies, and commands? Does that not seem like treachery to you? It would be an infidelity towards Rome."

Bobby had gone a sickly shade of pale green. "N-no, Praetor Bell," he stammered. "J-just warn them wh-what Octavian p-plans to do, and help them p-prepare so they don't hurt those who want to h-h-help."

Reyna nodded, "I see. In that case, I think we should vote on this. Those in favor of sending in a legionnaire with the sole purpose of warning the Greeks and helping them learn friend from foe?"

A quiet murmur of voices spread throughout the mix-match group of young demigods, and slowly, one by one, the majority of them raised their hands. Only a few were left, standing stubbornly with their arms folded or straight at their sides.

"Motion passed," stated the daughter of Bellona, her stomach clenched with anticipation. "Members of the fifth cohort, you may stay. Everybody else, you are free to go. If I hear anyone mention anything about this meeting, you will suffer the direst of consequences – remember that."

Only about fifteen people filed quickly and quietly out of the room, nodding in Reyna's direction with respect. She managed to hold down her disgust at the whole legion as those few left. How was it that the majority of the fifth cohort could stay loyal despite everything, but the other four combined could only send a quarter of a cohort, total. As the last person – a girl from the fourth – departed, Reyna turned back to the thirty or so legionnaires from Jason's old family. She recognized a younger girl who had just joined the legion (a week before Juno kidnapped Jason) at age twelve. Her name was Rose something-or-another, and her name suited her well, being a daughter of Ceres. It pained Reyna to see such an innocent spirit being dragged into all of this, but then again that was what had happened to _her_ on and after Circe's island. Sometimes, pain and experience were the foundation of a better sense of who you were and what you could take. Everyone needs that, at some point.

"Rey? You in there? Hey, Earth to Reyna!" Dakota was calling, waving his hand in front of her face. His Kool-Aid stained mouth was pulled back into an amused grin, and a manic mischief was alight in his eyes.

Reyna snapped out of her daze, and mentally kicked herself. How could she just zone out like that? In front of legionnaires expecting orders, no less. "Right, so I figured that if we picked one of you, it would not only be more reliable, but also easier to cover up than sending someone from another cohort. Since Dakota takes role, he can simply mark you as present. Anyone still interested in acting for the legion in an attempt to warn the Greeks, stay. Those uninterested, you may go; just remember that the same warning I gave the others applies to you as well. Do not speak of this."

Approximately five people stood and left, and Reyna sighed inwardly. Of course, they were Romans, and any chance to serve the legion would be tempting. She should have seen this coming. She paced up and down the length of the room, scanning the remaining soldiers. Some, she knew, had come out of retirement in New Rome in order to help them fight the war. It was times like these when she wished Gwen had been one of them, but the older girl needed to keep up with her classes, and therefore could not.

"Anyone over the age of fifteen, you may go," she announced. Nearly a third of the group in front of her groaned and left, muttering acknowledgements. "Anyone aged eleven or under, follow them out."

At this, only a couple of people followed; tiny ten and eleven-year-olds were not common in the fort. Left standing before her was an array of thirteen through fifteen-year-olds, including Bobby and Dakota. "Bobby, Dakota, I do not think it would be a good idea to send you two; Octavian has been watching you. Still, I believe that you should stay and have a say in voting who should have the honor of going."

The two boys nodded, looking embarrassed but pleased. Not including them, there were a total of fourteen soldiers, boy, and girl, with various expressions and looks. Reyna could immediately pick out the ones who had only stayed to not look as if they were against the legion. "Scarlet, John, Kyle, Penelope, Vince, and Cara, you may stay as well, but I do not believe we will be sending you."

"Yes, Praetor Bell," they chorused, a mixture of expressions on each of their faces.

Eight remained; two age thirteen, one fourteen, and five fifteen. Now, it was all down to appearance. They could not afford to send someone who would look suspicious, or whom Octavian and his lackeys might miss. That meant four of the fifteen-year-olds who were either too tall, to broadly built, or active voices in the senate meetings. It also included one of the thirteen-year-olds, who was so tiny that Octavian sent him into battles as a scout. "Sam, Isabelle, Marco, Quinn, and Nina, I apologize, but you will not be sent, either. That leaves Rose, Ben, and Liza. We should vote on whom to send. Each of you sixteen gets one vote, so use it wisely. Those in favor of sending Rose?"

The young girl stood determined, her chin up and an unusually fierce look on her face, as seven of her fellow legionnaires raised their hands.

"Those in favor of sending Ben?"

He stood motionless, one fist clenched and the other playing with a stray strand of fabric on his shirt. His eyes scanned the small crowd nervously. Five people voted for him.

"That leaves four for Liza. The majority vote is for Rose Mae, daughter of Ceres. Any objections before we disband?"

A wave of muttering rolled through the soldiers, from which Dakota stepped forward. "Praetor, Rose is certainly a capable soldier, but she is just a child. This mission is not particularly safe, seeing as we know almost nothing about the Greeks and their behavior. If something were to happen to her in their camp, we would be responsible."

"Is not the same risk present for Ben and Liza, or any other Roman we send? As you said, Rose is perfectly capable, and you have voted her in by majority. If she will accept, I personally will escort her as close as possible to the Greek camp."

Everyone looked at Rose expectantly, some with concern, hoping she would deny, and others with respect, almost certain of her acceptance.

"I will go," she stated. "It is my duty to Rome and to our praetor."

"Very well," Reyna said. "Meeting adjourned. Rose, you will stay behind and we will prepare you for your quest. Dakota, Bobby, I believe that we will need you two as well."


	11. XI Percy

**Hades La, what are you doing updating on a Wednesday night? Well, dear peoples, my family's laptop is being sent in for repair on our disk drive, either tomorrow or Friday, so I had to update tonight. That is also why the chapter is unusually short. I had to leave you all with a cliff-hanger, I'm sorry. So I shall speak-to/write-for you all again in two to three weeks! All the more reason you should review ;) Hehe hope you enjoy! Sorry again at the shortness of the chapter and the length of the Author's Note.  
Disclaimer: Me no own PJO/HoO or any of the Harry Potter references.  
Note #2: Check out HecateA's fanfictions if you haven't yet. I worship her as much as I do Burdge-Bug. That's a lot.  
**

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**XI**

**Percy**

A figure stepped out of the shadows into the slightly lighter space where Percy and Annabeth stood. At first, Percy had to do a double take. The man standing before them resembled Hades in a way that was almost frightening. After closer examination, though, he could see that they did not look as alike as he had initially thought. This man looked more like one of the Shades in Hades' realm – with skin as pale and grey as an old man's hair. The bags under his eyes were bruised purple and blue, and the eyes themselves were a coppery red. His hair was lank, hanging in a greasy veil down past his shoulders. On his body, he wore an almost comically long trench coat over a navy blue shirt and black pants. Strangely, he reminded Percy of that Professor Snape man from the Harry Potter movies his mother made him watch with her. The only difference was that this man was more pale and lanky. Beside him, he heard Annabeth draw in a shocked breath and was tempted to ask her what this man was.

"Demigods," the creature hissed in the same gravelly voice as before. It was like hearing a bag of sand and gravel getting run-over by a pick-up truck. Even under the unpleasantness, there was something almost seductive about the voice. It made Percy feel like he would do anything the man requested; even allow him to drain his blood. Wait; drain his _blood?_ Where in Tartarus had that come from?

Annabeth kicked him in the shin, and he snapped out of it. Together, they moved so that they were back-to-back, yet still facing the unwanted company. "You're Mormo, aren't you?" Annabeth asked, though it sounded more like a statement. Percy tried wracking his brain for where the man appeared in mythology, but failed.

"Very smart, aren't you?" said the man in his scratchy voice. "Daughter of Athena, I suppose? Yes of course, you have the same grey eyes and superior posture. I never liked that particular goddess. Now if you were Hecate's spawn…"

"But we aren't," Annabeth countered. Percy saw how tensed she was and grabbed hold of Riptide, in his pocket.

"No, of course not, and what a shame that is, too," stated Mormo, sounding almost bored. "I have orders to take you to Gaea, you realize that don't you? I would prefer to not help her, either, but I side with the winners and there isn't a hope in this universe of you demigods prevailing. Now, you can come easily or we can do this the hard way. It is your choice."

"We'll come with you when the forges of Hephaestus freeze over," Percy growled, pulling out his pen. Normally he would have said Tartarus, but by recent discovery, he knew that the pit was actually quite chilly already.

The pale man looked thoughtful, "I could probably arrange that, but I understood your meaning. The hard way, then. What a shame; the mistress had hoped for you to be in top condition."

Then, he lunged at them, baring what Percy could now see as fangs. In a moment, Anaklusmos transformed into its full glory and lay prepared for battle in Percy's hand. In his peripheral vision, he saw Annabeth brandishing her dagger unsteadily, her balance off due to her bad foot. All it would take is an extra inch forward and she would go tumbling to the crinkling ground under their feet. All this happened in the second it took for Mormo to reach them. He headed for Percy first, probably assuming that turning his back on a weak girl would be a smarter idea than the opposite. Of course, he was wrong. Percy swung out blindly with Riptide while Annabeth spun out and lunged towards his unprotected back.

Mormo must have seen it coming, though, for he spun out and grabbed Annabeth by the neck, picking her up and flinging her away. Percy saw her land painfully, and despair threatened to cloud his thoughts when she did not so much as lift a limb.

"I am the mighty Mormo, terror of the night and father of vampires. I am a servant of Gaea, Hecate, and Queen Laestrygonian herself! You cannot win against me, foolish son of Poseidon, for I am more powerful than even you. Surrender now, or both you and your pretty little girlfriend will suffer the consequences. I may not be able to kill you, but I can torture you beyond sanity. All my mistress needs is your blood, after all."

Anger flared up in Percy's vision, tinting it a deep red. No one threatened Annabeth like that without having to deal with the consequences. No one. With that thought, he lunged at the vampire-man with renewed force, striking straight through his stomach. Mormo gave an agonized shriek, but it soon faded into a chuckle. Percy went to draw his sword out, but to no avail. It was stuck fast, lodged in the vampire's gut with seemingly no damage done. "How...?" he muttered, confused.

The creature before him grinned malevolently, "I cannot be harmed, demigod, for I am immortal and have the protection of both my master and my mistress. Together, they cannot be harmed, and neither can I."

He flicked a hand, and the ground underneath Percy's feet began to develop a hole that was swallowing him. "No!" Percy yelled, thinking only of Annabeth. She was hurt – possibly even dying – he could not just leave her behind, even if it wasn't something he necessarily could help.

Then, against his will, the crinkling floor fell out from under him completely, sending him hurtling downwards into seemingly endless darkness. The last thing he saw before his head went under was Annabeth sitting up dazedly behind Mormo's preying smile.

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**Dear guest-user Mariah, sorry it has taken so long for me to write this! Thank you so much for the reviews and for sticking with the story! Hope you keep it up! I'm glad you love it so much!**


	12. XII Annabeth

**I'm baaaaaaaack! Miss me? Haha just kidding! Siriusly, the computer shizz took forever! Stuff kept happening so we had to send it back again and it just came back a bit ago! So hi! Enjoy the chappy! They'll be back up weekly again, starting now :)**

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**XII**

**Annabeth**

She sat up groggily just in time to see Percy sink through the ground. It took every ounce of self-restraint she had to stay absolutely silent, and even then, she found herself struggling to keep a clear mind. She just had to focus on this one task – staying alive long enough to get to Percy, wherever he was now. Grimacing, she got to her feet, her bad ankle shaking under the pressure of holding her weight. Mormo was caught up in his minor victory of disposing Percy, so he did not see her as she stumbled toward him as quietly as possible across the crackling ground. When she was within ten feet, she raised her left arm, the one holding her dagger, and gasped with the intensity of the pain that flared through her. Brilliant. Stranded in Tartarus with a broken ankle, a possibly broken arm, no supplies whatsoever outside of her dagger, and now no boyfriend either.

_Whining will do you no good;_ she scolded herself, grabbing for her weapon with her other hand. Her adrenaline high had worn off after she'd been thrown, so each movement suddenly seemed much more painful than before. She started to second-guess herself; maybe just giving up would… _No. _Annabeth Chase would not give up like some weak little damsel in distress. She did not need anyone to save her, and by the gods, she was not going to surrender to some egotistical maniac of a vampire.

"Hey, Mormo!" she called, standing up straight.

The parasite spun around, the shock on his face almost comical. "Girl," he spat, as if this was the worst insult in the world.

"Yes," Annabeth said. "I am a girl, but that doesn't mean I can't fight. I've killed monsters worse than you before, so why shouldn't I kill you?"

"Have you forgotten where we go, when we die?" he hissed, striding towards her with a menacing grin plastered on his features. "You're already in Tartarus, daughter of Athena. There is nowhere to hide. I have met many of the pit's residents and most of them have told me of you, and of the revenge they will have at last, should you meet again. If you manage to evade me, how will you hide? This is my home, Annabeth Chase, and it is my prison. You cannot defeat me."

"Except you've forgotten a few key points, Mormo," Annabeth countered, the grip on her dagger tightening until her fingers were white. "How many people up above do you suppose remember you? Even the immortal fade if they are forgotten. Now, this is as low as I can sink. There is nothing worse than Tartarus, wouldn't you agree? Really, what have I got to lose, if I decide to fight you? And I will fight, Mormo; I am a daughter of Athena – I always have a strategy and I _never_ surrender. So tell me again that I cannot defeat you. I have one thing you don't. I have the will to live and keep living, and they say survival instincts are the strongest of all."

Annabeth believed her words, but only just. She knew she was mixing facts in with false bravado, but she also knew that as long as she kept Mormo listening, he couldn't kill her. For it to work, she needed to be convincing.

She was in luck; Mormo scowled at her, his pointed teeth barring alarmingly. Annabeth's mind instantly flashed back to the little kids who dressed up as vampires for Halloween. She almost laughed at the thought; if only they could see Mormo! On second thought… The monster in front of her would scare most mortal kids to death, so perhaps she should not be thinking such bitter thoughts.

The parasite snarled, striding the last few yards towards her at a snail's pace. She could run now, but he would only speed up and catch her before she got three feet away. Then, he would kill her. Therefore, Annabeth stayed put.

As though reading her thoughts, Mormo grinned again, "Do not fear little demigod. My masters will be very fair to you, where you're going. They promise you a quick death, and knowing how those infernal judges in the Underworld are, you'll reach Elysium."

His voice was calm, measured, and alluring. He was now pacing around her, almost thoughtfully, and Annabeth could not understand why she was so tense. He had a point; she had done as much good as possible in her life, and no one would be able to argue that she did not deserve Elysium. Why was she still fighting? It would be so much easier to just give in…

But why would she do that? Think about Percy! She had to find him.

"Come along, Annabeth," Mormo cooed, his enticing voice breaking her thoughts into shattered fragments. She could feel the shards of thought and strategy groping around in her mind, trying to connect, but she could not focus. All that ran through her mind was Mormo's soothing words and promises of a better life for her, in Elysium. No more war, loss, or struggle… No more stress or prophecies to deal with. No more ungrateful gods for her to please….

She found herself nodding slightly in agreement to his words. Sure, dying would be unpleasant, but it would be worth it, right? In Elysium, she would see all her friends and siblings that she had lost in the Titan War, and eventually Percy would join her and they would have their happy ending.

"T-take me to your masters," she muttered, her head bowed. Her whole body was trembling, as though those five words had sapped the strength from her whole being. Her knees buckled, her ankle twisting sharply under them, and Mormo caught her by her elbows.

His fingers dug into her arms as he leaned towards her. "You're mine now," is all he whispered.

Annabeth's vision was rimmed with red, black spots turning everything hazy. She felt a sinking sensation in her gut as her surroundings morphed into a dim cavern, piled high with precious jewels and artifacts. The whole scene would have been fascinating, had she not been so physically and mentally drained. The next thing she knew, the world went black.


	13. XIII Hazel

**So hi. Who's a procrastinator and irresponsible poster? This girl! But I'm here now. And I'm going to try to be more activey and such. Sowwy! Thanks a million to those of you who review, it pushes me to write faster, honest. Enjoy the chapter! I'll try to have another up tomorrow! **

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**XIII**

**Hazel**

"Leo! What's going on in there?" Hazel called. She was waiting outside the engine room, holding on to the doorknob for dear life while the rest of her floated upwards. The ceiling in this section of the ship was higher than the rest, which meant that if she floated up with the momentum of the fall, tumbling back down would be like falling off the roof of a one-story building.

"Well, uh, it's not Buford," Leo shouted back from in the room. Shortly later, a loud crash came from inside, followed by a string of cussing in Greek. "I don't know, the whole system just stopped working and I don't have the supplies! They were hard enough to get at camp… I almost blew the whole place apart, just trying to assemble this engine!"

"How in Pluto did you manage to do _that?_" Hazel asked, astounded. It was just a machine, wasn't it? It couldn't blow up a whole camp! Could it?

"Lots of technical stuff and calibrations gone wrong, to put it mildly," he responded, sounding strained. "Hey, I didn't want to have to ask, but can you give me a hand with this? It's pretty bulky for a one-person job… Sorry."

Hazel rolled her eyes; she would never understand why everyone nowadays wanted things so complicated, but if it kept them from plummeting to their deaths (or re-deaths, in her case) then the least she could do is help a little. It was tricky, but after a little bit she managed to twist the doorknob open. Immediately, she gasped at the complexity of it all. She figured that she could probably spend anywhere from hours to years trying to figure out how it all worked, but decided that she'd rather put it in the list of "weird modern day things she didn't understand and probably never would." Right alongside mobile telephones the size of a playing card, and the internet (which Frank was just starting to explain to her.)

Leo looked up at her from behind a cluster of cogs and carious metals that were assembled together to make a beautifully intricate yet ginormous design. Somehow, he was not floating in the air as she was, a fact that he appeared to be smirking about. "Well," he said, mischief soaking his voice, "What are you waiting for? Quit floating around and give me a hand, hm?"

"_Leo,_" Hazel said, exasperated, "I can't stop floating around! How are you avoiding it, anyways?"

"Magnetic shoes; I need them for ceiling repairs sometimes. There should be another pair on the wall, grab it and put it on but _hurry_, I managed to slow our fall but not by much."

"Right," Hazel muttered, letting go of the door handle with one hand as she stretched for the pair of clunky-looking shoes with her other. They came free from the wall, barreling down to the ground heavily, toting her along with them. She cursed in Latin under her breath as she shoved her feet into them, pulling the Velcro tight one-handed so that they would stay on. Dakota had taught her all about Velcro after she had come across it in one of the shops in her first week at Camp Jupiter. Hazel felt her heart pang for her old camp, remembering how serene it was after training hours, when all the legionaries dispersed for their hour or two of free time. That had always been her favorite time of the day, even though she had not been there long. She had loved to take out her sketch pad and try to capture the Romans as they chattered to one another, the evening light casting a warm golden glow across the camp, legionaries mixing in with those retired from the legion and those too young to have joined yet.

Once the slightly too big boots were on her feet, Hazel released the door. She let out a breath that she had not realized she had been holding when she was able to stand up and not fly towards the ceiling. She clunked over to where Leo seemed to be destroying his beautifully constructed engine as he muttered under his breath in angry-sounding Spanish. Without looking up, he tapped a bolt in the machine with a wrench. "Take this and unscrew the bolt," he ordered, still working.

Figuring that he knew what he was doing, Hazel did as he asked as fast as she could. By the time she finished, Leo was wrapping up disassembling his part of the machine. He grabbed onto the edge, motioning for her to do the same. The metal was cool and surprisingly smooth under Hazel's fingers as she gripped the very edge where it seemed to come apart. Together, she and Leo pulled at it, and she found that it was much heavier than it looked. After a moment's struggle, the panel hesitated, and then peeled away with a satisfying clatter. It almost sent both demigods flying backwards, but their special-made boots kept them rooted in place. Leo immediately set to work, muttering words under his breath that made no sense to Hazel. The words might as well have been in another language, though she could tell that they were not since Leo spoke with a slight accent whenever he spoke Spanish. She sat back on her heels, still crouched down to the height of the engine's panel, watching as Leo's fingers flew across the hundreds of buttons and levers, adjusting screws and wires in a seemingly random order as he went.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, the dropping feeling in Hazel's stomach lessened and though she felt no change other than that, she knew they were no longer falling. Leo rocked back from the open panel, grinning like a maniac; his whole face lit up with relief and pride. Hazel saw hesitation flicker across it for a split second before he was hugging her fiercely, laughing in relief. She understood why; he hadn't thought they would make it, even with the ship falling at a third of the rate it should have and his knowledge of the engine. She hugged him back and when they pulled away she was grinning just as insanely as he was. Even as demigods, near-death experiences could be pretty traumatizing.

"I'd better tell the others that we aren't in danger of plummeting to our imminent doom, anymore," Leo said after a moment. As he got up, Hazel noticed his hands were shaking. When he offered them down to her, she saw that hers were no exception. Another side effect of "imminent doom" as Leo had put it, she supposed. It truly was a miracle that she had not been even a little sick during the whole production, though it may have just been the adrenaline fueling her.

"We should spread out and tell them all to meet in the dining area," she suggested, ignoring the lurch in her stomach as she thought about her seasickness. It was odd how even a thought could trigger any feeling.

Leo gave her an odd look, causing her to suspect her thoughts were showing vividly on her visage, but then he shrugged. "Alright, I'll go up on deck and check on Coach first. You take the lower decks. See you there."

Hazel nodded, and together they walked back to the corridor where he headed up one set of stairs and she the other. She decided to try Frank's room first because not only was it closest, but she wanted to talk to him before any of the others. It was just a habit that came with having a best friend after being lonely for so long. She knocked, then knocked again, but received no answer. Assuming he was asleep (though she didn't know how he could sleep through that,) she opened the door, but Frank was not in there. Disappointed, Hazel continued down the hall to collect the others.

When they were all finally collected in the dining room, Frank included, Leo began to explain what had happened with the ship. As soon as he opened his mouth, though, the ship rocked again, and in an instant, they were all on what Hazel was pretty sure had just been the ceiling, the furniture piled on top of them painfully.


	14. Sorry!

Hi! Okay that sounded too peppy considering the situation. If you've been following the story you'll know that I haven't uploaded in... Months... Yeah I have a bucket of excuses and none good enough to cover this fact. I hate to abandon a story but I just can't keep up with this one, I'm sorry. Thank you all for the lovely reviews because they really do brighten my day, and I hope you'll read any future one shots, et cetera, that I upload.


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